An Abandoned Pioneer Cabin
An Abandoned Pioneer Cabin
By Elton Camp
There it is, way off to the right side
A home where a family did reside
I mightn’t have seen as I passed by
Except a chimney still stood high
I wonder who, with labor and care,
Took the time to construct it there
The best stones were set aside
All found on the mountainside
People could only use what was free
Chimney from rocks, logs from tree
Although he was not very skilled,
Each man his own house did build
I could see the dwelling had started small.
E’er the two could walk, they had to crawl
As the couple’s family grew,
They added rooms, one or two
A mortgage they never owed
Didn’t have a payment’s goad
Luxuries they never knew.
Nor any “Joneses” to outdo
It was much the same everywhere
People lived simply, free from care
There was not any reason to feel bad
You don’t miss what you never had
And it was still possible to tell
Where the family had dug a well
A heap of ruins did betray
Place where the privy lay
The family’s barn had collapsed long ago
Only rotted logs could its location show
The cabin had been empty many years
Never again to see either joy or tears
And when more time has passed,
There will be no trace of it at last
When the chimney crumbles away
To eras of time the place falls prey
To me it really seems a shame, though
A family lived there but none will know
While I live, I will always try
That place to recall with a sigh
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